Can improve DHFL offer, says Adani
NEW DELHI: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s roads-to-mining group has indicated that it can improve on its ₹33,000 crore takeover offer for collapsed housing lender DHFL and has sought forfeiture of deposits of bidders seeking to vitiate auction by questioning maximum recovery of public money.
In an email written to the administrator, who is running the DHFL auction under insolvency process, the Adani Group said it has followed due process scrupulously and its “intent has always been to provide an unconditional offer and potential value maximisation for all the stakeholders and at the same time ensuring an expeditious consummation of the process”.
In the email, uploaded on DHFL data room, the Adani Group said it was pained at some bidders resorting to media to sensationalise issues with an aim to prevent value maximisation for the lenders and depositors.
Four entities—Adani Group, Piramal Group, US-based asset management company Oaktree Capital Management and SC Lowy—submitted bids for DHFL in October but lenders, who are getting DHFL auctioned to recover unpaid loans, wanted suitors to revise their bids as original offers were low.
The Adani Group, which had initially bid only for DHFL’s wholesale and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) portfolio, in the revised offer submitted on November 17 bid for the entire book, offering a total of ₹30,000 crore plus interest of ₹3,000 crore, a person from the lenders consortia said.
Soon after, rival bidders objected to Adani’s bid, saying the group had submitted the bid past the deadline and that it cannot expand on its original plan.
All the three rival bidders sought disqualification of Adani, the source said.
Seeing that rival bids did not reflect the proper value of the company, Adani Group on November 9 decided to bid for the entire book, it said in the email dated November 22.
“We reiterate our intent has always been to provide an unconditional offer and potential value maximisation for all the stakeholders and at the same time ensuring an expeditious consummation of the process,” Adani wrote.
“We also stand committed to further improve our offer when revised offers are invited,” the company stated in the email.